Women with breasts that are large, heavy or not in proportion to the rest of their body often suffer from pain in the back, neck and shoulders. They might also feel self-conscious or even embarrassed because of their appearance. Their breast size may limit their ability to exercise or produce grooving in their shoulders from bra straps or cause rashes from supportive garment use.
These women can benefit from breast reduction in Chicago – this highly effective procedure can have a dramatic impact on a woman’s self image and bring relief to both physical and emotional discomfort that can be associated with large breast breasts. The breast reduction surgeons at Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute have many years of experience improving the appearance of overly large breasts. Read on for more details about the surgery.
Initial Consultation
At your initial consultation, the plastic surgeons and staff at CASI (Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute) start with detailed and precise measurements of your breasts so we can customize your new look! We’ll review your medical history and then focus your goals to make sure we make the appropriate plan. Breast reduction surgery is normally combined with a reduction in the size of the areola and a lifted appearance of your breasts. Additional techniques, however, such as breast implants, lipo contouring of the areas around the breast (bra roll fat or axillary fat), axillary breast tissue removal, fat grafting, internal mesh or internal adjustment of breast tissue may be needed to achieve your optimal result. Attention to the details is what we at CASI are known for!
Breast reduction surgery at CASI is usually an elective procedure, however for patients that have significant medical complaints that have been documented with their primary physician,their health care insurance plans may cover breast reduction surgery. The process for preauthorization for coverage does take time and starts with the initial consultation followed by a written request for coverage to the patient’s insurance company. Once approved for surgery, breast reduction surgery is scheduled usually at a hospital nearby. For those patients who do not want to use medical insurance for breast reduction surgery or do not meet the criteria established by their insurance plans, breast reduction surgery at CASI (Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute) can be customized with you in the same manner as all other elective surgeries.
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Surgery Candidates
Most of our breast reduction Chicago candidates have large, heavy breasts that cause physical pain and psychological discomfort. These women may feel restricted by their heavy breasts from participating in sports or other physical activities that require a lot of movement. They may have grooves on their shoulders from the tightness of their bra straps or rashes under their breasts.
Candidates for breast reduction surgery should be in otherwise good health and must completely refrain from smoking. Patients who do smoke, must quit smoking 4-6 weeks prior to surgery and not smoke for 4-6 weeks after the procedure. All candidates are asked to visit the team at Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute to consult personally with our surgeons. This consultation is a chance for the surgeons to determine the patient’s candidacy, discuss her goals, and outline an individualized surgical treatment plan.
The Procedure
Breast reduction surgery is performed under general anesthesia, which is administered by our board-certified anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists. Your plastic surgeon will make an incision pattern based on how much breast tissue needs to be removed. That incision will likely be made around the nipple and areola, and extend from the base of the areola to the crease beneath the breast. The internal technique of breast reduction and the amount of breast tissue removed is customized to the breast anatomy with the patient’s goals in mind. Once the breast tissue is removed, the areola is resized and relocated to match the newly sized breasts.
Additional techniques, however, such as breast implants, lipo contouring of the areas around the breast (bra roll fat or axillary fat), internal mesh for breast support, axillary breast tissue removal, and fat grafting can be tailored into your surgical plan to achieve your optimal result. Once the procedure is completed, we sit you up during the procedure to confirm that symmetry is optimized. Then the incisions are meticulously closed with fine stitch work, small drains are inserted and finally the breasts are bandaged for healing.
Recovery
Breast reduction patients are encouraged to rest at home for a few days then follow up in our office for a quick check before drain removal. Showering is usually permitted 24 hours after the drains are removed. Light exercise (such as walks) can be resumed after two weeks. Our plastic surgery providers will give you recommendations on support garments to wear as your breasts heal. It is also important to avoid doing any heavy lifting during breast reduction recovery, including lifting small children. Mothers recovering from breast reduction surgery are advised to arrange for a caretaker or companion to help with the children; their ability to move around will be temporarily hindered.
After letting your body heal for 4-6 weeks, a graduated return to your regular exercise regimen is recommended. Our scheduled, postoperative visits are the best time to confirm any remaining restrictions. Smoking is discouraged during the 4-6 week healing process and direct sun tanning is definitely to be avoided. There are safe ways to manage sun exposure during the first year and your surgeon and our staff at CASI will review the ointments and specific strips to optimize your healing process. These guidelines, as well as any other recommendations from your breast surgeon at CASI, should be carefully followed in order to lessen the risk of complications.
Benefits and Risks of Breast Reduction
Breast reduction surgery is designed to remove weight and volume from large, heavy breasts that may be out of proportion with a woman’s figure. The breast size and shape are customized to your goals and the areola is resized and repositioned to match the newly sized breasts. The result is a more proportional and youthful breast!
Our Chicago breast reduction patients usually feel an immediate relief from neck, shoulder and back pain. Exercise and physical activity is much more comfortable and wearing certain types of clothing becomes much more enjoyable. Shoulder grooving is lessened and rashes under the breasts can resolve completely after breast reduction surgery.
Risks of breast reduction are rare when the surgery is performed by surgeons with extensive experience, such as the surgeons of Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute. Since the size of the breast is reduced and the anatomy of the breast is surgically changed restored to more aesthetically pleasing position, breast reduction surgery (as any surgery does) has some associated risks, including the the risk of recurrence of breast tissue, loose skin after surgery, the need for refinement of the outcome, asymmetry, the risk of unfavorable external or internal scarring, bleeding or fluid collection within the breast, infection, temporary or the very unlikely risk of permanent loss in sensation in the nipple area. Thankfully these risks are small and covered in more detail during our standard informed consent discussion prior to surgery
If you would like to speak with one of our surgeons about breast reduction surgery, please contact Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute and Medspa today.
